Artificial Turf Installation Guide

Artificial Turf Installation Guide

Mark Off the Installation Area. Using an outdoor spray can marker, mark off the boundaries for your lawn. Remember that Grass comes in either 12-foot or 15-foot widths. Plan your installation with this in mind, to have as few seams as possible with your layout.

Remove Existing Sod and Landscaping. Use a manual shovels, a gas-powered sod puller (you can rent one at most rental centers) or have a local landscaper remove the existing sod and any landscaping you want removed from your installation area.

Close the Sprinkler System. Your Synthetic lawn won't need watering. If you have a sprinkler system in the installation area, cap the sprinklers and turn off their valves.

Compact the Existing Ground. You need to fully firm up the ground that will be the foundation of your Synthetic lawn. The only really good way to do this with a vibrating plate compactor, which you can rent from most rental centers.
Apply Weed and Grass Killer. Apply a high-quality weed and grass killer to the lawn installation area. It's also a good idea to put down a mesh weed barrier (this is not always necessary arid or dry climates).

Lay the Sub-Base. Lay down a top 1" to 3" layer of rock aggregate (1/4" minus; you won't feel any protruding rocks under your feet on your Synthetic lawn). Ask your local nursery, rock yard or Salesman what material local landscapers use under paving bricks and similar project and use that material. With this sub-base, your goal is only to make your base firm and level. If your soil is especially unstable, you may need more than 3 inches of sub-base. If you are not sure, ask an expert in your area - a local nursery, landscape center, rock yard or Arizona Luxury Lawns rep.

Spread, and then Compact the Sub-base. Use the vibrating compactor again to firmly compact the sub-base.
Check for Surface Depressions. You should fill in and re-level any based depression that is more than 1/4" deep. Even though Synthetic Grass drains water vertically through drainage holes built into it, we also suggest giving the base a very slight slope, away from any buildings, to avoid any pooling at all.

Roll Out the Grass. Position your lawn strip-by-strip and be as accurate as you possibly can be. Be sure you don't cut off any turf that you actually need! Also, try to avoid dragging the turf. The grass is very tough, but until it's installed properly, dragging it can damage the underside or the blades.
Cut the Grass to Size. Use a very sharp blade in a quality utility knife. First, to make the turf easier to handle, cut off larger pieces of excess material. Then make sure the turf is still properly positioned where it needs to be and trim the edges more precisely.

Seam the Grass. Where two pieces of Lawn meet, you will need to make a seam. You can use carpet tape or roofing tape, or you can use carpet glue and landscape fabric to seam your Synthetic lawn. You can find these supplies at almost any home center like The Home Depot or Lowe's. This is not as critically a detailed task as you might expect (In certain climate i.e. desert southwest, seaming can be done with nails as glue has been shown to break down from excess heat. This also allows for accessing below the grass if needed without cutting or removing seams). Because synthetic grass has a relatively high blade height, seams are much less noticeable than what you might expect and certainly less noticeable than on pile carpet. Remember however, detailed instructions about seaming are provided with your purchase; this is only a summary. You can also hire a local carpet installer to help you for a few hours with this part of the project (although that's not usually necessary).

Apply the Infill. After the seam glue has dried, trim off your grass so your lawn fits exactly as you want. Then, using the standard seed-drop spreader, apply the infill. The average infill amount is usually three pounds per square foot. The infill helps weigh down the turf down and stabilize the fibers to keep them upright and prevent matting. Infill can be sand, rubber or a combination of each. Most installers use sand infill. (We recommend copperslag as this product retains no pet odors.) It does the job well and is the least expensive choice (about $3 for a 50-pound bag). Rubber is softer than sand and is considered the premium infill material, particularly for play areas or sport or recreation areas where children or adults might be falling a lot. But rubber infill material is quite a bit more expensive than sand (about $25 for a 50-pound). Also, on a sloped installation, rubber infill has a tendency to rise to the surface of the grass blades more readily than sand does.

The bottom line: Apply the material you can afford and prefer. As you spread the infill, make one entire pass on the on the surface of your new lawn and then sweep the infill deeply into the fibers. Then repeat this process until all of the infill has been spread and fallen in between the Synthetic blades.

Optional Edging. Depending on your yard and your landscape concepts, you might install edging around your new lawn. Options are incredibly varied and include extruded curbing, 4" x 4" timbers, natural stone, rock, metal edging and plastic edging. If you are not going to apply an edging, we suggest you hammer regular landscaping nails every two inches along the perimeter of your Synthetic lawn to prevent the edges from lifting.

Enjoy your New Synthetic Lawn!